tribey
ʎǝlʞuᴉH ʞɔɐS
I recently completed a paper on the relationship between freedom of speech and the law in liberal democratic countries. For the sake of brevity, in liberal democracies (such as France), hate speech is one of the few forms of speech which is restricted.
I suppose the question is what constitutes 'hate speech'? To you or I, hate speech may be saying "all Muslims are dirty terrorist c****", whereas to people who follow the Islamic dictums, hate speech is perceived as any negative speech (satirical or otherwise) of their religion, and is grounds for execution.
Then again, it really isn't up to the individual to decide what is "right". Countries needs to act on behalf of a large population and as such, laws dictate what is and isn't acceptable. In France, satire like what was published in Charlie Hedbo is fine (satire is also constitutionally protected in Germany for instance). In Islamic countries, when taking the piss out of their religion, it is not. To further complicate things, there is increasing pressure from particularly the U.N. (the General Assembly, the Security Council and Human Rights), but also NATO, the U.S. government, whatever have you, to have free speech in the Middle East.
In France, deciding what's "right" is incredibly challenging. France has a considerable Muslim population (due to its proximity to North Africa and the Middle East as well as its proximity to the Muslim diaspora in other parts of Europe) and there is a need to take their considerations into account.
It's a touchy subject and one that us as Australians face on a daily basis. As the world is fast becoming a melting pot of cultures intertwined in a global community, government bodies are facing an increasingly challenging task of keeping a diverse population happy whilst staying on top of a plethora of social, economic, political and cultural crisis.
While I think countries can always improve their representation of the population during changes to ethnic demography, people need to understand and respect local laws. Have your religion, have your faith, continue your ancestral customs. But don't waltz into a liberal democratic country and kill a bunch of people for taking the piss. That's not the way civilised people act.
Value pluralism > cultural relativism.
HASHTAG DEAD ESKIMO JOE BABBYS SAD EMOJI





